Milan Cathedral

Milan Cathedral or Duomo di Milano is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world and is often compared to the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and the Cathedral of Seville in Spain.

Aside from being one of the Gothic architecture in Italy, one of the main characteristic of the cathedral is the presence of thousand’s of spires. The cathedral has about 135 spires, each mounted with a statue depicting important people in Milan’s history and different characters in the bible. The highest spire and the tallest part of the cathedral measures up to 357 foot tall and holds the most important symbol of Milan the Madonina or Little Madonna. It’s a golden statue that is so important that by law no any other building should pass the height of it.

It took five centuries to complete the cathedral, from 1386 until the 19th century when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered to finish the cathedral’s façade. You can just imagine all the European artists who were attracted to the project and participated in doing it. There are thousands of statues inside the cathedral, beautiful stained glasses and relics.

Unlike other European churches the Milan cathedral has no campanille or bell tower. For music lovers, you might also want to attend a mass on the Milan Cathedral. The cathedral is the home to one of the oldest musical symbol in Milan since 1402, the Capella Musicale. The choir accompanies mass every Sunday and on special occasions. They sing Italian and Latin classic compositions.

You can get a good view of the spires, the city and the Alps by taking the terrace tour of the cathedral. You’ll have to buy the ticket at the Duomo Info Point to get access; you’ll have the option to take the stairs or the elevator. The terrace tour is only offered during the first week of July until the end of September and you might also have to wait for about 15 minutes before your turn because they limit the number of people who goes up. You might want to use those time to prep yourself up or to stretch if you’re taking the stairs.

Aside from the terrace tour you can also visit an archaeological site of a pre-existing basilica of Early Christian baptistery, the mausoleum of Gian Giacomo De Medici and the Cathedral’s treasury and museum, which houses different relics and tells the story of how the cathedral was built.

The Milan cathedral is a celebrated landmark for architecture, the arts, and for music lovers, name it the cathedral has everything to offer. It easily places itself as one of the famous places in Italy.